Fastener for envelopes



(N0 Model.)

G. W. McGILL.

FASTENER FOR BNVELOPES.

No.414.071. Patented0ot.2 9, 1889.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE \V. MCGILL, OF RIVERDALE, NEWV YORK.

FASTEN ER FOR ENVELOPES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 414,071, dated October29, 1889.

Application filed June 22,1889. Serial No. 315,174:- (No model.)

To all 1072,072 it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. MOGILL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Riverdale, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented new and useful Improvements in Fasteners forEnvelopes andfor other Purposes, of which the following is a specification.

In transmitting samples by mail in unsealed envelopes or similarwrappers it is very desirable to provide means whereby the closing flapcan be securely held in its closed position by contrivances that willpermit it to be released with ease and facility that the officials mayinspect the inclosures and then quickly and conveniently reclose andsecure the envelopes or packages.

The object of my invention is to provide a novel, simple, efficient, andeconomical device for accomplishing the purposes mentioned, and which isalso capable of being otherwise usedas, for instance, to fasten or bindtogether two different sets of papers or documents to permit one set tobe removed without disturbing that part of the fastener which securesthe other set.

The invention consists in the novel features of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, reference being made to the accompanyingdrawings, illustrating the inven tion, in which Figure 1 is aperspective view of a blank to form the fastener; Fig. 2, a similar Viewshowing the blank folded upon itself longitudinally along its medianline; Fig. 3, a similar view showing the inner member of the blank bentinto two prongs; Fig. 4:, a perspective view of the completed fastener;Fig. 5, a transverse sectional view of the fastener; Fig. 6, a sectionalelevation showing the fastener applied to secure two thicknesses orclifferent sets of papers; Fig. 7, a perspective view of a blank to forma modified form of fastener; Fig. 8, a similar view showing said blankfolded upon itself longitudinally along its median line, and Fig. 9 aperspective view of the completed fastener formed according to themodification.

In order to enable those skilled in the art to make and use myinvention, I will now describe the same in detail, referring to thedrawings, Where the blank is shown in Fig. l, and is composed of twostrips of metal 3 and 4, parallel with each other and onelonger than theother, the center of both being integral with each other, as by a neck2, for a distance equal to the spread of the completed staple formedfrom the blank. To form the staple fastener this blank is folded uponitself longitudinally along its median line, as in Fig. 2, and theextremities of the inner member 3 are bent outward to form two separatedprongs 5, which are preferably pointed. The other or outer member 4 isfolded around and toward the prongs 5 to constitute shoulders 6, andthen bent outward into prongs 7, the inside surfaces of which preferablyrest against and are parallel to the outer faces of the prongs 5. Thisconstruction provides a fastener wherein the head is composed of twothicknesses or superposed layers, with the inner prongs between and nextto the outer prongs, both pairs of prongs extending later ally in thesame direction from the duplex head. The shoulders 6, by projectinglongitudinallybeyond the outer prongs 7, serve to cover and conceal theholes or slits made in the papers for the insertion of the prongs. Theprongs which lie adjacent to or against each other are made of differentlengths to facilitate bending the prongs down upon the papers, and, asshown, the inside prongs 5 are the shortest, so that they can be passedthrough one thickness or set of papers, as at 8, Fig. 6, and be clincheddown, and the outer prongs 7 inserted through another thickness or setof papers, as at 9, and then clinched down in either direction.

In Fig. 9 the fastener also comprises a head of two thicknesses ormembers 3 and 4, and is made from the blank, Fig. 7, by folding suchblank upon itself longitudinally along its median line, as shown in Fig.8, and then binding the extremities of the two members at right anglesto the duplex head to form the inner prongs 5 and outer prongs 7. Inthis modified construction the shoulders 6 (shown in Figs. 4 and G) areomitted.

The fastener is composed of a single piece of material, and the blanksare preferably stamped from any kind of sheet metal which will permit ablank to be easily bent or folded scribed, consisting of two pairs ofprongs projecting in the same direction from one side of a head composedof two superposed layers formed integral and the prongs of each pair arespectively in close parallel contact, each layer of the head carryinga pair of the prongs, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

GEORGE WV. MOGILL.

W'itnesses: THos. L. SoovILL, E. A. S. BARKELEW.

